Machinist School - waterproof keyboard

Machinist School likes the waterproof keyboard .... silicone .... chips don't get stuck in the keys... to get it out of the way, flop it over the monitor .... spill coffee on it!

Machinist School Says, "More Free Software"

The Machinist School gets information on all sorts of great things .... in this case, free software!

Of course OpenOffice is a great thing, as is the 2D CAD from SolidWorks. But here's some more things that you might like:

1. Evernote - FREE ($5 a month if you upload more than 60MB of data) http://www.evernote.com/about/download/

Compare to: Microsoft OneNote ($79) Evernote is like a super organized digital scrapbook. As you go through your daily tasks on the computer, you can toss just about anything in it -- pictures, web clippings, and PDF documents. Evernote even lets you search for text inside images, so you can snap a picture of a product or recipe and then find it without digging. You can create notebooks around projects, folders of web clippings, and notes to organize lists. Then Evernote syncs your notes to the web so you can access them from your Windows PC or Mac, and even via an app for iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry, Android and Palm phones. You can also capture new pictures and notes on your smartphone while you're out, and those sync back to your main computer.

2. LibreOffice – FREE http://www.libreoffice.org/download/

Compare to: Microsoft Office ($249) LibreOffice looks and feels much like Microsoft Office, and the resemblance isn't just skin deep! It lets you import files from Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, and work on them and share them just as if you were using Office. You can even create new documents, spreadsheets, and presentations in Office's file formats, and your friends won't know the difference. LibreOffice is open-source software, which is created by volunteers and by employees at corporations which use it. They don't mind sharing, so you're welcome to download it for your Mac or your Windows or Linux PC.

3. Avast! Antivirus - FREE for basic Anti-virus ($49 to add firewall and anti-spam functionality) http://www.avast.com/free-antivirus-download

Compare to: Symantec Norton AntiVirus ($34) Avast is a complete anti-virus and anti-spyware solution for Windows PCs, like AVG and Microsoft Security Essentials. And it not only protects you from unknown online threats, it also scans your PC to get rid of the junk that's already there. Avast performs scheduled scans, and provides real-time protection against viruses coming from email, web browsing, instant messaging and peer-to-peer file sharing. Its web shield keeps suspicious websites from loading, and its "sandbox" lets you isolate programs and keep them from changing anything on your computer. But its best feature may be the "silent mode," which keeps Avast from giving you pop-ups about updates and scans.

4. Dropbox - FREE for up to 2 GB of storage ($9.99 a month for up to 50 GB) https://www.dropbox.com/downloading

Compare to: Verbatim 2 GB USB Flash Drive ($11), Fetch FTP software ($29) Instead of emailing yourself files or carrying a fiddly USB key around, try Dropbox! It's just like a folder on your computer, except that you can access that same folder from any other computer. Download the free software to your Mac, Windows or Linux computer, and it creates a central Dropbox folder. Then drag files there, and you can access them from any device with a web connection. You can even invite friends or coworkers to your Dropbox, and share files with them that are too big to email. Free Dropbox apps are available for iPhone, iPad, Android and BlackBerry, so you can also access your files on the go.

5. Kindle Reader - FREE http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=kcp_ipad_mkt_lnd?docId=1000493771

Compare to: Amazon Kindle ($139) You probably already know about Amazon's Kindle ebook reader, and its competitors, Kobo and Nook. But did you know you can access the same Kindle ebooks and bookstore from your laptop or smartphone? The free Kindle software is available for Macs and Windows PCs, with mobile apps for iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry, Android, and Windows Phone. Once installed, you sign in with your Amazon login (or create one if you haven't already got an account) and then you can choose from thousands of bestselling books, for less than the cost of a paperback and with no shipping charges. Plus, Amazon has over 16,000 free Kindle ebooks, just waiting to be downloaded.

Tee-Off at 10am ---- prizes!!!!

April 9 @ 10 am .............. $125 prize! Woo-Hoo!

Machinist School - Speeds for Woods

How fast you go matters .... Maybe you have seen your drill smoking its way through a board.

According to this chart, softwoods are drilled two or three times faster than hardwoods. Here's the test:

A pine board (softwood) is being drilled with a 2" diameter bit at 500 RPM. What is the cutting speed in feet per minute? (answer = about 250 feet per minute)

A piece of dry oak (hardwood) is being drilled with a 2" diameter bit at 250 RPM. What is the cutting speed in feet per minute? (answer = about 125 feet per minute)

Drill bits for cutting wood are typically made of "top quality high carbon tool steel". There are lots of top quality high carbon tool steels such as 1095(high carbon steel without alloys), O1 (Oil Hardening high carbon steel), and W1 (Water Hardening high carbon steel).

A rule of thumb used at the Machinist School is that Aluminum cuts about like dry oak knots. A cutting speed of 180 feet per minute works well for cutting 6061 T6 aluminum using a high speed steel tool bit without cutting fluid. (6061 T6 is "gummy" above 180 feet per minute until you reach a speed of about 600 feet per minute. At 600 feet per minute, it starts cutting good again.)

For cutting hardwood with high speed steel bits, Machinist School suggests 180 feet per minute as a starting point. For cutting softwoods with high speed steel bits, Machinist School suggests 300 feet per minute as a starting point. (Many softwoods cut very nicely a speeds greatly in excess of 300 feet per minute.)

Happy Drilling!!!

Machinist School - Compare G73 & G83

Casey Pray wanted to know the difference between G73 & G83.
There's a great YouTube demo ......


Here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lF71Cz634lI

Machinist School Fundraiser - Golf

Another way to get this form and info is:
www.nwti.edu/skills

Then you could help support future machine shop wizards of the world!

Machinist School says "Wow! Free 2D Drafting Software"

The Machinist School received an email from Solid Works with a link to a free download for DraftSight - a 2D DWG editor/creator that works with XP, VISTA, Windows 7 & MAC.

It downloads and installs quickly (about 10 minutes from start til you are actually drawing).

Here's the link:

http://www.3ds.com/products/draftsight/download-draftsight/

Happy Drafting!

Machinist School - "X-ist" & "Y-ist" ... Existentialism

Machinists rarely ponder the questions, "Do I really exist? If so, where am I?

Those two questions form the basis of Existentialist Thought.

One of the famous Existential thinkers was Rene Descartes. He does not exist anymore because he died February 11, 1650.

He is famous for a statement, "I think, therefore I am." He figured that since he was thinking, there must be an active part of the cosmos that could (at that time) be described as Rene Descartes.

Rene needed to figure out a way to map the cosmos so that he could find himself so he invented a kind of grid system. Cities are laid out using his system. The streets run north and south while the avenues go east and west (or vice-versa). In mathematics, the X-axis is drawn horizontally on a wall while the Y-axis is drawn vertically. CNC (Computer Numerical Control) folks locate points using Rene Descartes grid system. The grid system is even named after Rene.

The grid system is called "The Cartesian" grid system.

One has to wonder, "If we only used the X-axis, would that be X-istential? Could there be a Y-istential?"

Machinists have a different method of answering the philosophical question, "Where am I?"

Machinists simply hit themselves on the thumb with a hammer. Then the questions of existence and location become moot points. Lawyers then ask, "What are the X & Y coordinates of a moot point?" But machinists always know where they are - "Right Here Sucking My Sore Thumb!"

Machinist School - A Good Knife Sharpener

Right now, February 2011, Aldi's has an electric knife sharpener that is easy to use and works well .... and only $15.
http://www.aldifoods.com/us/html/offers/2867_13546_ENU_HTML.htm

The red button in the middle of the front is a simple on/off switch.
The left side is Coarse, the right side is Fine.
Drag a knife through the slots on the left, then use the slots on the right.
Pretty easy way to sharpen a knife.

Machinist School - See the Robotic Snow Plow

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=tPg1ZMiC9pA

The link above shows some of the steps in the invention of a robotic snow plow.
.... Finding a Need, Computer Drafting and Simulation, Computer Machining, Product Testing ...
Sometimes people become machinists just so that they can build the things they want to make.

Machinist School - Video

http://www.kanabco.com/vms/


This link is know to many as the Virtual Machine Shop.
When you get to the site, Click on the "Library" and you will find numerous topics.
Many of the topics include video demonstrations that can be accessed by clicking the associated "video camera icon".

Happy Machining!

Machinist School - Research & Development

At the Machinist School in Springdale (Arkansas), on February 9, 2011 we have 20 inches of snow with drifts even higher. But that does not deter our R&D efforts. (When you get lemons, make lemonade - right?) Maybe now, the world will have a better understanding of why ducks fly in a V-formation and why loose-screw threads frequently have 60 Duck-gree angles.

Doosan CNC Job

If you are looking for an Ultimate CNC Job ………….
Technical Machining in Rogers is the Doosan Dealer
Doosan has become very popular in the past few years.
Doosan is a very large company with products & services such as:
http://www.doosan.com/en/services/index.page?WT.ac=MainMenu1

The Machine Tool Page is:
http://www.doosan.com/en/services/machine_tools.page

Technical Machinery’s web site is:
http://www.techmach.net



Technical Machining is looking to fill two positions:
Sales Engineer for the State of Arkansas
Service Engineer for the State of Arkansas

Both are entry level (training), salaried positions. This is about as good as it gets.
The Contact is Rick Boedecker – President, Technical Machining

Send a resume to
Boedeker@Techmach.net

Machinist School - The Machinist Brain

The Machinist School wonders, do you have a machinist brain?

Bill Gates is a college dropout. He figured out what he needed to know and then went for it.

School is, very nearly, an example of frustration-regression ..... you can't succeed so you go to school in search of answers ...... we are all in search of success.

If you plan to enhance the powers of your mind, first you should know about your brain.

If your computer does not handle video and you are kind of busy ........... then you need to find a computer that works and take time (about 10 minutes) to see this video.

Here's the link.

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/jill_bolte_taylor_s_powerful_stroke_of_insight.html

Then if you still want to be a machinist, go for it ........ school can be good ..... we just fool around with the concept of making things and then try to get machines the assist in the process.

Machinist School CNC Passwords

CNC is Computer Numerical Control .......

Machinists use computers to write programs, document processes, draw blueprints, communicate ................. and so forth.

Machinists have to come up with passwords for the many activities they perform on computers.

Maybe this link will help you in your search for a strong password.

http://www.wimp.com/strongpasswords/

Machinist School courses can help you become a better machinist!